I'm pissed off about people wanting to see Grand Theft Auto 3 (http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/reviews/0,10867,2820025,00.html) banned. :yell: If you do not know about the game click the link to read a full review. I took my final exam in advanced composition today (that was my final final too, I'm graduating early!) and the topic was to find something that people found offensive or harmful and either support or argue against it. Anyway I really want to get this baby distributed on the net, so here it is for your reading pleasure. I think you all know which side I took! :p

Where Does The Blame Really Lie?

Written by: Michael A. Bischoff

Throughout the course of American history there have been certain works in certain media that the public has seen fit to ban. A most famous example is Mark TwainĂ˘â‚¬â„˘s Huck Finn. Times have changed and our newest media, video games, have come under scrutiny. As of today the top-selling game on the market is Grand Theft Auto 3. Simply put it is a game where one can commit felonies, run from cops, pick up prostitutes, or anything else the Id can concoct. Obviously this is a game only fit for adults. However some people say it is harmful to minors who play it, and even adults. Although that is a valid argument, the game has a right to be here, courtesy of the First Amendment. Why should this one game be banned instead of say, the Ku Klux Klan?

Of course Grand Theft Auto 3 is labeled as harmful. Since the game rewards the player for bad deeds one can easily see how it can affect a fragile mind. The game is filth along the same lines as pornography and it does cause some people to think violently. Once again these arguments would be perfect except for the fact that all creative works have the right to exist, no matter how ugly of offensive.

Many people are still misinformed about the art of video games. They are created by a skilled team of artists and programmers who work long hours to delivers that perfect product. Because of this they are as much art as paintings of movies. Any intellectual property that is released to the public is guaranteed First Amendment rights. Nobody should be allowed to change or censor its contents. Grand Theft Auto 3 does raise flags though. Many see it being too violent for children to play. Most games are played by children, right?

Again they are wrong. Most people, mainly parents think video games are still toys that children play with. Whoever falls in line with that statement is truly ignorant. The video games industry has evolved to include gamers of all ages, with the majority shifting to adults now. This is the reason why adult games exist; there are many adults willing to play them. In the early Nintendo days when nearly all gamers were children, there were absolutely no adult games on the market (except on the PC, which were tame by todayĂ˘â‚¬â„˘s standards). Because of the influx of adult gaming the industry was smart enough to implement a ratings system in the mid 1990Ă˘â‚¬â„˘s that is similar to the movie rating system. For those who say that the video game industry is irresponsible, that was probably their most responsible act. The current rating system had been in place well before the most violent and adult of games were released. Since the industry has already acted responsibly, where does the irresponsibility lie then?

That is correct, the parents are the irresponsible ones. The video game industry has already fulfilled their role once. Now the Ă˘â‚¬Ĺ“adultsĂ˘â‚¬Âť of America should be making use of a very accurate rating system. Instead of allowing their children to buy games like Grand Theft Auto 3 they should tell them what is appropriate or not. Stores should also be more stringent in enforcing the rating system to keep that from even happening in the first place. Finally parents need to start raising their children, not the media. If these measures were taken then this whole uproar might never even exist.

Parents and censorship advocates are too egotistical to blame themselves. They must always latch onto a scapegoat to direct their ignorant attacks, this being Grand Theft Auto 3. The sane people of the world must protect this game and others like it. It has the unalienable right to live just like every single person in the world. Nobody should be allowed to limit freedom of choice and besides if this freedom is abolished, what could be next?

If you want to quote or use excerpts of this in your own arguments, please quote me/give me credit! If I find anyone stealin this material I'm gonna have to hunt em down! :fire: So this means this is (c) 2002 Michael A. Bischoff huh?

miadphan13

01-18-2002, 12:20 AM

I think you did a great job writing this and I fully agree! :D

iceblizzard69

01-18-2002, 10:12 PM

I have GTA3, and it is AMAZING! It shouldn't be banned like it was in Australia, if you don't like it, then don't buy it. I hate it when people bitch about this kind of stuff. It is like having certain things not allowed on TV. If you don't like something, don't whine and bitch and try to have it banned, just don't buy or watch it.

inFINSible

01-19-2002, 11:10 AM

The only people who want it banned are weak minded indivduals who can't possibly grasp the idea that WE can actually control what WE believe and don't believe, that we have the ability to differentiate between fantasy and reality because they have no ability to think and reason for themselves.

Jaydog57

01-19-2002, 11:36 AM

You wanna keep a video game legal and people are still going to jail for smoking pot. How about making that legal too? I mean, it's ok to play a game where people die but you can't do something where nobody has ever died. Over 50,000 people a year are killed from car accidents related to alcohol. You know how many are related to marijuana? Zero. So according to the govt, it's safer to play a game where people die or get hurt than to actually do something where nobody gets hurt. Think about it, people that are simply selling something that naturally grows in the ground, are getting the same prison sentences, and sharing jail cells with, people that have kidnapped, raped, and killed people. Because the govt. says it's just as bad. Yeah, I know lot's of potheads that are just out to make people's lives a living hell. Give it a rest folks, Pot as never hurt anybody, never has, never will. You would literally have to smoke almost a ton of marijuana to die, it's been clinically proven. If you don't like it, fine, but don't condemn people cause they enjoy it or it makes life easier for them. I know people that have gone to jail for selling pot, that never had more than a single speeding ticket, and now they live with murderers. All they were doing was trying to pay their way through college, but because the precious "government" said it was wrong, they have to suffer, whether it is morally wrong or not. God Bless the USA right? Yeah, whatever. Just think about how many alcohol-related deaths you've read about, and how many marijuana-related deaths you've read about. Try zero. I rest my case.:cool:

iceblizzard69

01-19-2002, 02:59 PM

No one is getting hurt from GTA3, only animated characters in a video game. Marijuana should be legal, it is in the Neatherlands, and they don't have problems.